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It takes two to make a baby. So it's a good idea to make sure your partner's on board with his own preconception preparations. Sure, he's not going to be the one doing the actual baby carrying (at least not for the first nine months — he'll make up for it later), but he will be contributing half of the essential genetic material that makes a baby. To get his body into prime baby-making condition (so he can make the best contribution possible!), he should:

Eat healthy! Your nutritional needs aren’t the only ones that are going to be challenged in the baby-making process — he needs to fertility-boosting foods, too. Research shows that dads-to-be need lots of vitamins C and E, zinc, and folic acid, all of which make sure that not only does he have enough boys but also that those boys swim as fast as possible.

Watch his weight. Women who are overweight or obese tend to have a more difficult time becoming pregnant than normal-weight women. Now research shows that men who are overweight have fertility problems, too. A new study suggests that a 20-pound increase in a man's weight may increase the chance of infertility by about 10 percent. So make sure your partner's weight is under control to ensure optimum baby-making potential.

Steer clear of the wrong chemicals. Your partner's body needs to be protected from dangerous substances during preconception as well. Dads-to-be need to avoid or reduce exposure to hazardous chemicals, such as those found in some industrial workplaces. Contact OSHA to find out if your guy needs to be careful at his job site and how he can best play it safe.

Just say no. Thought you alone had to change your lifestyle for optimum baby-making? For best results, your partner should make some adjustments, too. Heavy alcohol consumption can lower sperm count — and in some men, even one or two beers is enough to temporarily keep the boys down. Cigarettes and recreational drugs are also linked to lower sperm count — not to mention their (and alcohol's) possible effect on his performance (and you want his best performances now!). His best bet is to cut way down on all of these, or even better, cut them out. (Once you become pregnant, secondhand smoke will put your pregnancy and baby at risk — so he might as well quit while he's ahead…of schedule.)

Get a preconception checkup. Though it's your body that's going to be doing the heavy lifting once conception takes place, making a baby takes the participation of two healthy bodies. A doctor's visit can ensure that any and all chronic conditions are under control, unknown problems become known ones, and the safety (and effect on fertility) of any medications are checked out.

Switch to boxers. And push those tight jeans (and those spandex shorts he works out in) to the back of the closet. Scientists have yet to rule definitively on the boxers versus briefs debate, but it can't hurt to make the switch and give those vital testes some breathing room.

Halt the hot tub. While you're trying to conceive, it's important for your partner to keep his nether regions cool. So hot tubs and saunas are off-limits, until mission conception has been accomplished. (As for you, you're safer waiting until your baby-to-be has actually been welcomed into the world before slipping back into the sauna or hot tub.)

Keep his laptop off his lap. Recent research has found that men who use a laptop (on their laps) have lower sperm counts. That's because the heat from the laptop can raise the temperature in the sperm sector (the testes), lowering sperm count, and causing fertility issues. Don't ban the laptop completely, just make sure he uses it on his desk, not his lap.

Take a break from biking. But only if he's an avid cyclist who spends more than 12 hours a week in the saddle. Again, those testes can be testy about performing when they're under stress. He can go back to the bike (and those spandex shorts) when the baby-making job is done.

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